


So Lonesome I Could Cry

by Short_honey_badger



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Action/Adventure, Cannon, Character Death, F/M, Lore friendly, Quests, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:21:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25190812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Short_honey_badger/pseuds/Short_honey_badger
Summary: In the Mojave Wasteland, Anna Reed fights to find the man who shot her in the head and took the Platinum Chip. Along the way she comes across old friends, and makes new ones. Romance buds and she finds herself a pet a bit bigger than the average dog. Join her as she explores the wasteland and maybe even takes over New Vegas.And thanks so much for gold-and-rubies on Tumblr for being my beta reader!
Relationships: Cannon Relationships - Relationship, Christine Royce/Veronica Santangelo, Craig Boone/Female Courier
Kudos: 3





	1. One For My Baby

**Author's Note:**

> Hey Guys! I'm back on my shit with some fanfiction. I promise that I am trying my hardest to work on my other fics that any of you have read. I've just been in a rut so hopefully I'll get out of it soon!
> 
> I would also like to let you know before hand that the characters in this may seem a little bit OOC. It's mostly Boone. I've seen so many fics where it is the Courier that starts the relationship first. I want to switch it around. I feel like I've put enough background behind their relationship that is should make a sense.
> 
> Let me know what you all think!

Anna coughed harshly then reached up to rub the sand that was beginning to stick to her face away from her eyes. The wind had been getting worse as the hours went by, and Anna knew that she would have to find shelter soon or get caught in a sand storm. She squinted through her fingers and could have cried when she saw Dinky the T-Rex standing tall in the whipping sand. She picks up her pace and soon she is waving up at the daytime sniper. Manny acknowledges her and waves her to come on into the town making Anna grin and beeline it to Cliff's Briscoe's shop inside the dinosaur.

  
Once inside, she shakes away the loose sand from her clothes then slides off the leather jacket she wears to protect her from the sand and hot Sun. Cliff is greeting her with his usual when he finally looks up and notices that it is his sweet little girl that he had raised after her parents death. She had been nine years old when they had passed and Cliff had loved her like she was his own.

  
"Anna!" he exclaims, and is around the desk in a flash to pull his little girl into a bone crushing hug, "Bout time you came around again." he pulls back and pats her shoulders, making more sand fall from her, "Been around a year since we all last seen ya."

  
"I know. I've been busy with the Mojave Express and some other stuff that has happened," Anna says and proceeds to tell Cliff everything that had happened after she had taken that last job from the Mojave Express. About how the pay was too good for just a simple delivery job to New Vegas. How after being kidnapped, and then shot in the head, Anna had realized that the delivery was not very simple in the slightest. That platinum chip had almost cost Anna her life and had cost her a month of relearning everything she needed to know to even move from Doc Mitchell's bed. She still had trouble with speaking sometimes. Anna did not know what that chip did, but she wanted it back. 

  
"You goin' after that man will lead to nothin' but trouble," Cliff says and wants to roll his eyes when Anna grimaces, and wraps her arms around herself, "You need to rest a while. Just a few days at least." he pushes her red hair away from her face, and gives her a kind smile, "You look dead on your feet." 

  
Anna does the eye rolling for him, but nods her head in acceptance, "Yeah, alright. I'll stay a few days. It'll give me time to catch up with people." She thinks for a second then asks, "You didn't see a man in a checkered coat did you?"

  
"No hun I didn't. Might check with Manny or Boone though. They might have seen someone like that. I know they'll be happy to see you." Cliff says and Anna quickly thanks him, and gives him another hug before prancing up the stairs that would lead to the sniper's nest. She makes sure to knock on the door before opening it up. She is met with an annoyed looking Manny Vargas who quickly changes his attitude at the sight of her.

  
"Little Root!" he exclaims, and blushes bright at the old nickname. You eat a bad xander root once and look at what happens.

  
"It is so good to see you. Where have you been that has kept you away for so long?" Manny grabs her into a tight hug before letting go, and forcing her into the only chair in the sniper's nest.

  
For the second time that day, Anna tells someone from her past about the platinum chip, and the bullet to her head. By the end of it, Manny is pacing furiously back and fourth in the small space of the dinos mouth. He has taken his beret off to run his fingers through his hair, occasionally tightening his grip until Anna can see his knuckles turn white.

  
"Those bastards." he suddenly snarls, and whips around to look at Anna. He grabs her up tight, and she is surprised to feel her thin shirt get wet with what must be tears. "Fuckin' Jessup and his Khans came rolling into town a few weeks ago. Had some uppity daisy in a checkered suit with them. I let them crash at my place for the night, and heard them talkin' about the courier they offed. " He takes a deep breath, and Anna hears him sniffle violently, "I never would have thought that it could have been you."

  
Anna tears up at the wreaked sound of his voice, and clutches the man who was her brother in everything but blood closer to her, "Manny, no. You had no idea what was going on. Had no idea what they had done." Flashes of that night flew by her eyes, and Anna clutched the man even tighter to her. She hated thinking about how she had almost died that night.

  
"How can I help you Anna? I'll do anything." Manny says, and Anna pulls away so she can look at him in the face. She searches his brown eyes, and finds the acceptance she was looking for.

  
"Tell me everything you can remember about them. I want to know every tiny detail about the man who shot me. Especially if he said anything about the platinum chip." She says, and Manny nods his head in total seriousness. He is so ashamed of himself for letting something like this happen to his little sister. He has known her for over half of his life. She had been a pillar of strength after Bitter Springs, and this is how he repays her kindness.

  
Soon enough, the two of them are situated on the floor so they are facing one another. Manny then proceeds to tell Anna everything he knew about what had happened the night that he had taken in Jessup and his gang. He described what they all looked like, but was not able to get many details about the platinum chip. He was not for sure what the chip did, or even who the man in the checkered coat was, but he did know that they were on their way to Boulder City.

  
The two sat in silence for a long while after Manny finished telling Anna everything he knew. The Sun was beginning to set, and Anna was starting to feel the exhaustion of traveling all day, and the emotional mess afterwards. She stands and stretches her arms above her head.

  
"Thank you Manny," she says through a yawn, "I need to sleep on this. Probably will head out after a few days of rest." She would then have to book it to Boulder City. She knew it was NCR held so any Great Khans that had passed through would have either been held hostage or killed. She hoped it was the former.

  
"I hope that they are still there." Manny says after he has stood up. He was glad that she would take a few days for herself before taking off after them. Anna had a different look about her since the last time he had seen her, and he wondered what she had been through other than dealing with a bullet to the brain.

  
Anna sends her friend a smile then gives him one last hug before going out the door with a parting goodnight. She tells Cliff the same when she goes down the stairs then makes her way to the old hotel room she had stayed at before she left for the Mojave Express. Her key still works for the room in the top left corner, and Anna smiles happily when she takes in the one place that she would always be able to call home. Someone had either used it in her absence, or Jeannie May had cleaned it up. The things she had left out were neatly put away, and her usually messy bed had been made. Anna happily shucks off her travel clothes then lays in the big bed. After today, she thought she deserved a nice nap.

* * *

  
By the time Anna woke back up, night had already fallen, and it was just past one o'clock. She knows that Manny has already retired for the night, and knows that Boone had probably taken his post by now. Anna had known Boone since before he had enlisted into the NCR. He had been a young merc coming up from New Reno looking for work that wasn’t protecting a caravan. Boone had been at the ripe age of 20 years old, four years older than her at the time. They had become quick friends after Anna had demanded that he show her how to shoot a rifle, and had supported him when he decided that he would enlist when the war between the NCR and Legion escalated. She was excited to see him and Carla. She was actually rather surprised she had not ran into the older woman yet.

  
After the battle of Hoover Dam, and the massacre of Bitter Springs, Anna had not seen Boone until he had come back to Novac with a dark headed dame on his arm. He had told Anna that they had gotten married in Vegas, and wanted to share his life with her in Novac. Said that when he listened to Carla talk that he could forget about all the bad things that he had done in his past, and finally have some peace. Anna hadn’t liked the woman too much at first, she was Vegas born, and sometimes hard to get along with, but Anna tried for Boone and in time the two women became the best of friends. Carla had always been there with a shoulder to cry on, or a kind word. When Anna had left for the Mojave Express, and all that came afterward, Carla had been three months pregnant. The baby must have been taking up her time, and that was why Anna had not seen the other woman.

  
Anna decided then that she would first go see what Boone was getting up to in the mouth of the dinosaur. She could always count on him to brighten her mood with the crooked smile thrown her way after a rather dry joke. Yawning, Anna gets up from the bed and pulls on some warmer clothes that would protect her from the cold, and goes out the door. She tiptoes her way into Cliff’s shop then up the stairs. She taps her knuckles on the door but when she opens it, it isn’t to the crooked smile she had been expecting. Instead Boone sports a murderous look, and his rifle is pointed up and in her face.

  
“Boone?” Anna whispers, and slowly puts her hands up to show her friend that she is unarmed. Recognition colors Boone’s face, and he quickly drops the rifle and wipes any emotion from his face. Anna knows that something is wrong right away, and quickly steps closer to her friend. His face is pale, and his eyes were bloodshot, almost as if he had seen a ghost.

  
“Boone, What’s wrong?”

  
The sniper tenses for half a second before stepping back, and looks away from Anna to stare out into the dark desert sky. She can tell from his set jaw and clenched eyes that he is trying to not cry. Anna steps closer to him and attempts to reach out only to have him pull away from her.

  
“She’s gone Anna,” Boone grinds out and Anna looks at her best friend. She knew exactly who Boone meant to be gone, and her heart clinched in grief. Carla must have passed in the time she had been away from Novac.

  
“How?” Anna asks, and holds back a wince when she sees Boone clinch his jaw even tighter. Whatever had happened to Carla had affected her friend far more than Bitter Springs had, and Anna scoots closer to him in case he changes his mind about her being near.

  
“I don’t know if I can tell you, Anna. It was horrible,” Boone whispers, and she sees him break a little, and finally reach for her. Anna happily lets him clutch her hand and use her as the support he needs. It reminds her of how he used to use Carla after they had come back to Novac.

  
“Craig, please you know she was like a sister to me,” Anna whispers, and Boone flinches at the use of his first name.

  
“Don’t call me that. Not yet Anna,” He says and Anna is quick to nod in agreement. Her and Carla were some of the only ones to ever call him by his first name. He had once told them that it felt more personal. He is silent for a while after that, perhaps deep in thought if he should tell the one other person he had truly been close to. Finally, after Anna had given up any hope of knowing what happened to Carla, Boone begins to speak.

  
“Legion. Took her right out from under my nose a few months after you left,” He finally says, and Anna’s grief skyrockets into a fit of cold rage.

  
She sat in silence as Boone told her about that awful night and the following days. How he had come home one morning to find their room empty with no evidence in the hotel. The only thing that he had found was a scrap of Legion crimson that had caught on the broken fence that surrounded Novac’s hotel. It was with that he was able to find where the tracks started. He had followed the slave party all the way to Cottonwood Cove. There he found his heavily pregnant wife lined up with several other women on a stage surrounded by a sea of red. Boone could not let Carla and his unborn child live at the hands of the Legion, so he did the only thing he could do.

  
“I had to do it Anna. I had to take the shot,” Boone whispers, and Anna feels tears come to her eyes over the sound of Boone’s broken voice. She rises and wraps her arms around him in a hug. Boone’s arms wrap around her, and he hugs her back for a few seconds before letting go, and standing from the chair. There is a fire in his eyes when Anna looks and he locks eyes with her and says, “Now I just want the son of a bitch who sold her.” 

  
Anna nods then starts to pace in the dinosaur's mouth. She thinks of the people who live in the town of Novac, and who could have done something like this, and who knew about the broken fence. Andy was an injured ex-NCR ranger, Cliff would never dream of doing something like that no matter how much he may dislike someone, and No-Bark was a loon but harmless. The McBrides were good folk who usually kept to themselves, and only worried about their small pen full of brahmin. That only left the doctor who had shown up before Anna had left a year ago and Miss Jeannie May Crawford.

  
Now Anna thought the best about people for the most part, however; Jeannie May had always been guilty of being quite greedy and very judgmental. And the doctor-Miss Ada Straus was questionable in her methods but did not seem the type to deal with the Legion other than to dissect one of their recruits for study.

  
“Let me help you. I can look around, and see if I can find anything,” Anna says, and Boone is slow to nod his head.

  
“Yeah, you’ve been gone a long time. No one would turn their heads to find you looking around,” he says then reaches up to take the red beret from his head, and hand it to Anna. He asked for her not to mention any of this to Manny. They both knew that he had nothing to do with Carla being taken. Boone then instructs her to be quiet and careful and to bring whoever the culprit was out in front of the dinosaur when he was on shift. He would take care of the rest after that.

  
Anna nods then gives Boone a quick squeeze farewell before going out the door. Just to be sure, she goes through Cliff’s things but doesn’t find anything of interest to her. She leaves the gift shop, and turns left to go out of the gate only to have to stifle a scream when she sees Victor standing on the other side. 

  
“Well Howdy, Miss Anna. Didn’t think I’d see you out this way so soon after you got caught up with the NCR in Primm.” Victor says and Anna narrows her eyes in thought.   
“Have you been following me Victor?” she demands and the securitron waves his arms in a calming manner.

  
“Not rightly, Miss. Just thought it was time to mosey my way on up to Vegas.” he says and Anna nods but is still suspicious. She was grateful that the robot had found her, and dug her up after getting shot, but he was an odd one, and the cowboy face creeped her out just a little bit. 

  
“Well, alright. Goodnight Victor,” She says.

  
She turns to go into the hotel lobby. It looks almost exactly the same as it did when she had left home so she feels her way around until she finds the small lamp that sits on the table beside the door. The dim light penetrates the dark room and Anna quickly begins to pilfer through everything. There is not much to go through out in the open, so she goes behind the desk and begins to go through the cabinets there. Lastly, she checks the register and is about to leave the hotel when her shoe catches on a mat that lays across the floor. She can see a bit of metal peaking out, and Anna rips the rug away to reveal a floor safe.

  
“Jackpot,” She whispers, and gets down on her knees to begin picking the lock.

  
After her parents had passed, Anna had spent a long time stealing to get by, and had become quite good at picking locks. The only reason she had been caught by Cliff was because the lock to his supply closet had been too hard for her to get into at the time. He had taken her in, and gave her a home after that, as long as she promised never to steal unless she absolutely had to. 

  
The lock finally gave a satisfying click, and Anna pried the door of the safe open. Inside were a few scraps of paper, some caps, and a bottle of whiskey that still had the label on it. She shifted through the papers first, and felt her heart grow cold when she read the words Bill of Sale along the top of one of the pieces of paper. She scanned the rest of the paper, and had to stop herself from ripping it apart. This was all the evidence that she would need.

  
Anna stuffed the caps and bottle of whiskey into her pants then made sure everything was arranged like she had never touched anything before walking out the door. She places the bottle neatly on the ground by the door, and runs in place for a few seconds. She would have to really play the part if she wanted Jeannie May to leave her cushy home in the middle of the night. Once she is warmed up enough, she sprints down the hill to Jeannie May’s house and plasters a terrified expression on her face.

  
“Jeannie May!” She yells as she bursts through the older woman's front door. She looks around frantically for the bedroom and runs for it, “Please, you have to wake up! There is something in front of the dinosaur that you need to see!”

  
“Anna? When did you get back into town?” Jeannie May demands and her eyes narrow at the young woman, “And what do you need me to see at this time of night?” Jeannie May is still rising from the bed and Anna counts her acting as a success.

  
“I thought I saw a group of raiders coming up from the bridge! I need you to come see so that the town will listen to you, and fight back!” Anna cries and pulls on the woman's arm to hurry her out of the door.

  
“Oh goodness me. Let’s go Anna.” Jeannie May says and is out of the house as fast as her heels will take her. Anna follows behind the older woman, and suppresses a smile. Once they were near where Anna had seen Victor she wondered where the securitron had gone already. She slipped Boone’s beret on her head, and stopped behind Jeannie May when the old woman came to a halt to squint through the dark.

  
When the older woman doesn’t see anything, she turns to look at Anna only to stop short when she sees the cold, blank look that the younger woman has.   
“You know what you did,” Anna hisses then steps away from the older woman to give Boone a clear line of fire. Jeannie May is not able to get a word in before her head explodes into a bloody mess. 

  
Anna grimaces at the feeling of warm blood that has splattered across her face. She wipes it off the best she can with the end of her shirt then turns to make her way into the gift shop. She is surprised when she sees Boone come out of the door and walk right past her. She watches as he grabs Jeannie May’s cooling body and jerks his head in the direction of where the older woman’s head used to be. Anna is quick to get the hint and grabs Jeannie May’s arms and helps Boone drag the body under the bridge. 

  
When the two of them are done, they make their way back into the dinosaur and do not stop until both are sitting on the floor of Dinky’s mouth. Anna reaches into her pocket, and hands Boone the Bill of Sale that she had found. As he reads through it, the only thing that she sees is the tightening of his brow. If he is surprised, he does not show it.

  
When Boone still does nothing, Anna rubs her arms nervously, and waits for any other reaction from her friend. It takes a long time before he does anything and finally he sits down in the chair and holds the piece of paper out as he reads it again and again. “Boone? Are you alright?” 

  
Her question makes him jump then stuff the paper into his pants pocket. “Yeah...no. I’m not sure what I am right now Anna. I can’t say I’m glad to know who did this,” he takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out, “At least I know.”

  
Anna hums in the back of her throat as she thinks. Boone will not be able to stay at Novac now that he has committed a murder, no matter how justified it was. An idea pops in her head, and she takes a deep breath to steady herself.

  
“Come with me. Help me get the guy that almost did me in, and we will kill every Legion bastard that we come across.”

  
Boone opens his mouth to reply then abruptly shuts it. She watches as he takes off his glasses and rubs between his eyes before slipping them back on. He then reaches for his beret and Anna quickly gives it back to him. After another minute he lets out, and blows harshly through his nose then stands. 

  
“Alright. I’ll go with you. There isn’t anything left here for me anyways” Boone says and clenches his hand around the pocket that holds the Bill of Sale, “When are we leaving?”

  
Anna can’t help the grin that spreads across her face when Boone agrees to come with her. It had been under horrible circumstances, but she knew that with the two of them traveling together they would be able to accomplish anything they set their minds to.

  
“Not for a few days. I need rest and to do some trading before leaving again,” Anna says then remembers the bottle of whisky that she had taken, “Wait here. I have something for you.”   
She turns and runs out the door and down the stairs to retrieve the bottle that she had left. She clutches it tight then jogs back up the stairs to hand to Boone, “I don’t drink but I thought you might like it.”

  
Boone takes the bottle, and looks it over. It is in good condition for being over 200 years old. He can tell that it will be smooth whenever he decides to drink it.   
“Thank you,” he says and Anna smiles brightly at him before trying, and failing, to stifle a yawn. 

  
“I’m going to bed, Boone. You know where I am if you need me,” Anna says then ducks in to give him one last hug before going out the door.

  
Boone is left standing there with the bottle of whiskey dangling from his hand. He sits back down in the chair then sets the bottle by his feet. For the first time in a long time, he honestly does not feel like drinking tonight. Boone had just gotten back someone that he thought he would never see again, and as he stood back up to watch over the town Boone vowed that he would never let what happened to Carla happen to Anna.   



	2. Forlorn Hope

The next few days flew by for both Anna and Boone. Anna slept for the most part, while Boone stayed holed up in his room, or in the dinosaur's mouth. They would come together, and eat their meals every now and then, but mostly they stayed apart since they would rather no one found out about the murder of Jeannie May Crawford. Finally it came time for them to head out into the wastes, and start going toward Boulder City. It was the only lead Anna, had and she was determined to get there, hopefully, in a good time.

  
They were leaving a little later than she had wanted, but she knew that Boone needed his sleep after watching over the town one last time. She had already traded, and sold what she wanted with Cliff, and was now packing up the rest of her stuff. In the middle of shrugging on her leather jacket, a knock at her door startled her. She yelled for them to come in, and grinned when she saw Boone stepping through the door. He looked better than he did a few nights ago.

  
“Good Afternoon,” She says then zips up her jacket. Boone tiredly grunts her way, and picks up one of the extra packs that she had to buy to store some of her larger pieces of scrap. Her plan was to stop by Old Lady Gibson’s, and trade away what she had for things that Cliff did not carry.

  
It was only a short walk to Gibson’s garage, and the two of them made it there in record time. The old woman’s pack of dogs greeted them just outside the door. Anna grinned as she knocked on the door then let herself in. It had been too long since Anna had seen the woman who had taught her how to be a woman. Growing up with mostly men in her life had made Anna boyish in nature as she had grown. Gibson had taken her aside, and taught her how to be a lady when the other woman in Novac had not given her the time of day.

  
“Well, I’ll be. Isn’t it little miss Anna. All grown up,” Old Lady Gibson announced, and wrapped Anna up in a tight hug before releasing her. Anna grinned at the older woman, and got right into trading off the extra scrap she had packed up. A few minutes later her and Boone were walking away with a lighter load but with plenty of .308 rounds for themselves. Anna had been lucky that the man who shot her had tossed her weapons into that shallow grave on top of her. The leather jacket and jeans were new, but had so far kept her safe enough.

  
“Didn’t have to buy me anything,” Boone says when they are about half way to Helios One. Anna stops to look at her friend from under the sunglasses she had gotten from Gibson and raises an eyebrow at him. She can’t see Boone’s eyes, but she knows they are narrowed into a glare at her.

  
“Boone, it’s the least I can do since you agreed to travel with me,” Anna says then turns back around to continue on their way. Another two hours of walking went by in silence with only a few giant ants to get in the way which had been easily taken down by the both of them. They are just cresting a hill near an old billboard when they are stopped by a patrolling NCR trooper.

  
“Sorry ma’am. I’m going to have to ask you two to come closer this way. There have been reports of Legion activity in the area,” the trooper orders. He gulps when he sees the feral smile spread across Anna’s face.

  
She steps closer to the trooper dressed in desert brown and says, “Where? Boone and I can take care of that problem for you.” 

  
The trooper gulps but points toward the hills that lined the east. She follows his finger, and silently wonders if the Legion soldiers are from Nelson. She had heard that they had taken over the small town, and would not mind having a crack at them after what she had seen them do at Nipton.

  
“Reports say that there were six of them scattered about the hills. We would like to take them out but both Helios and Forlorn Hope are too undermanned to go after them,” the trooper supplies, and Anna gives him a quick two-fingered salute. She and Boone would happily take care of them.

  
“Let’s go Boone,” she says and Boone grunts in acknowledgment behind her. He had honestly not expected to hunt any Legion so soon, but he would not be saying no. Alone he may have struggled to take the large group out before they found his position. Together, however, he knew that the crimson wearing men would be as good as dead.

  
The walk to the east did not take too long, and soon Boone and Anna could see red scrambling around the hills looking for something. Boone nudged her shoulder, and pointed to a blown out building to the north of their position. It would be a perfect nest she could settle in and pick off the Legion. She gave her friend a nod, and took off for the building in a crouch. Boone soon found his own position, and waited for Anna to fire the first shot.

  
The seconds Boone waits feel like hours until he finally hears the crack of Anna’s hunting rifle then shouts go up around the Legion troops as they watch one of their scout’s heads explode in a cloud of blood. Boone takes his shot, and the two of them clear out the Legion troops quickly and efficiently. They lay in wait to see if there are any hidden troops When enough time has passed, Anna flashes Boone a thumbs up then meets back up with him.

  
“Good job,” Boone says, and hands Anna the pack that she had left behind.

  
Anna grins and quickly hauls the satchel over her shoulder before taking off down the hill toward the cooling corpses of the Legion. She picks over each body, and comes away with a handful of Legion coins and a few pouches of healing powder. The small bags stunk to high heaven but were still useful in a pinch.

  
She is scurrying over to another body when her foot catches something, and sends her head over heels into the ground. She turns around and scoots her way over to what tripped her. She dusts off the top layer of sand to see the two- headed bear sticking out at her. Curious, Anna keeps digging away the loose sand until she uncovers a large crate filled with munitions, and medical supplies. Knowing they need to do something with it, she calls Boone over to take a look.

  
“Could be for Forlorn Hope. We can take it back to them,” Boone says, and Anna quickly agrees. They extract the trunk and grimace when it uncovers the dead bodies of two NCR soldiers. They must have died fighting off the Legion. Knowing that it would probably give some closure to someone else, Anna drags their bodies out and grabs their dog tags before placing them back into the hole. She covers them, and hopes that it will be enough to keep away the crows she can see flying above them. Once she is done, she nods to Boone and grabs her end of the trunk.

  
Together, the two pick up the trunk, and begin the long walk around the hills until they find the entrance to the NCR camp. They are told to wait by the gate guards until a commanding officer sees them. Anna takes off her canteen and hands takes a swig of cool water then hands it off to Boone. It is not long until an older man dressed in officer garb shows up.

  
“I’m Major Polati. Troops informed me of gunshots and screaming over the hills. I’m guessing that was you two,” He says and Anna nods her head at his question. The severe look on his face is replaced with a wide smile.

  
“Then you have my thanks. We sent some troops to Helios One but they never returned. Looks like the Legion got them before you got there,” Polati motions for some troops to grab the trunk and carry it to the supply tent. 

  
“Why hasn’t McCarran brought more troops here?” Anna asks as she watches two troopers grab the trunk. She did not understand why they would be so understaffed with supplies lacking when they were on the frontline of the war with the Legion. 

  
“All command tells me is that the troops we need are training up at Camp Golf,” The Major says then motions for Boone and Anna to follow him to the command tent at the top of the hill. He holds open the metal door for them and Anna gratefully collapses into a chair to rest her feet.

  
“I call bullshit. Golf has plenty of trained men that could come down here and assist my men,” he complained.

  
“Oh. Well Boone and I are traveling that way. We can stop and let them know that you need troops as soon as possible,” Anna offers, and watches the Major sag in relief. He rummages around in his desk then pulls out a small bag of caps then hands it to her.

  
“Here, for bringing back those supplies. Quartermaster Mayes has been up my ass about getting more for the camp. I keep telling him that we don’t have enough troops to send out anymore just to never make it back.”

  
“Thank you,” Anna says then pockets the bag of caps. She knew that she would need as many caps as she could get her hands on.

  
“You’re free to stay at our barracks tonight if you want. It’s late and it is never safe to travel at night,” Polati offers, and Anna is quiet while she considers his offer. She felt like she had already wasted enough time at Novac. Anna glances at her pipboy, and sees that it is just after 7 in the evening. If she and Boone left now then they would probably make it to the 188 Trading Post, but it would be very late by the time they made it.

  
“We’ll stay for the night,” Boone says suddenly, and Anna whips around to stare at him. She had not expected him to want to stay at a place with so much NCR influence. She knew that after Bitter Springs he liked to stay away from places that held large groups of the two-headed bear.

  
“That settles it then. Let me show you the barracks and where the mess hall is,” Polati says and waves for Boone and Anna to follow him out of the command center.

  
The troopers greet the two once they step inside, and show them where two empty bunks are. Anna shrugs off her jacket, and places her sunglasses on top of the folded article of clothing. It was sweltering inside the barracks with all of the troopers bustling about. She turns to speak with Boone only to find him across the room talking with another man dressed in a different uniform compared to the rest of the soldiers in the large room. Curious, she gets up to move closer and catches the tail end of their conversation.

  
“It’ll mean a lot to the troopers around here. Those were good men,” The man says, and Boone gives a quick salute to the officer he was speaking with. He then moves away to speak with another trooper. Boone turns to Anna with a small smile.

  
“I gave the sergeant the dog tags we picked up,” He says with a shrug.

  
Anna grins up at him then starts moving toward the door, “Hey, you wanna grab some food?” She offers over her shoulder. Her answer comes from the sound of Boone’s boots following after her, and soon the two are sitting in the mess hall. Anna is picking at her brahmin steak and 200 year old instamash when a man comes stumbling into the large tent. She watches as he pours himself a cup of old coffee then collapses into the closest chair. Anna looks over the man and sees that his shirt is speckled with dried blood and he looks dead on his feet, she deduces that he must be the resident doctor. 

  
“You know him?” Anna asks Boone after he finishes chewing. Boone glances up and narrows his eyes in thought as he looks over the doctor. He shakes his head in the negative a few moments later then goes back to eating. Anna hums in thought then gets up and walks over to the coffee pot that had been changed recently. She pours a steaming cup, then gathers a small plate of mirelurk cakes. Once she was satisfied with the small pile, Anna she brought the coffee and food over to the doctor.

  
“Here. Looks like you could use it,” Anna says and gives the man a small smile. She sits across from him and watches as he inhales the food, and downs the hot cup of coffee. When he is finished he stretches until his back pops then acknowledges Anna.

  
“Thank you. I’m Alex Richards, the doctor around here,” he says and reaches over the table to shake Anna’s hand. 

  
“Nice to meet you, I’m Anna. How is everything here?” she asks and . He holds back a wince when the good doctor’s face shuts down.

  
“Well, with the Legion breathing down our necks at Nelson and a damn cazador nest to the north; we have more men in the medical tent then out in the field it seems like.,” Alex spits then reaches up to rub between his eyes., “I’m too under supplied to help some of our soldiers who have the worst of it and if I head Polati ask about them again I might end up being court marshalled.”

  
“I’ve got some medical know how if you would like me to try and help?” Anna offers and watches as Richards' stony expression melts off his face. She knew a little more than basic first aid, you had to if you planned to travel the wasteland by yourself.

  
“That would be great if you feel like you’ve got the stomach for it,” Alex says and Anna scoffs. If she had the stomach for it? With the things that she has had to go through the past year and odd months were anything to go by, then Anna knew she had the stomach to help the good doctor.

  
“I can handle it. Show me to them,” she says and . Alex huffs a laugh then stands to put his dirty dishes into the sink. She turns to where Boone is still sitting and makes her way over to him. 

  
“I’m going to help Dr. Richards with some of his patients. Do you think you could go get my bag for me? He said he was low on meds and I know that we have extra.”  
“Sure,” Boone grunts out and swiftly stands and walks out the door. Anna watches him go with a small smile and can not help but think how grateful she is that he agreed to come with her. She did not have to worry anymore about constantly looking over her shoulder and actually being able to sleep at night while on the move. After the stint with the kidnapping and being buried in a shallow grave, Anna had become paranoid. 

  
Anna jumps when a hand lands on her shoulder and turns to see Alex standing there, “You ready?” he asks and . She is quick to nod her head. By the time the two of them made it outside, Boone was turning the corner around one of the many ragged shacks in the camp with Anna’s bag slung over his shoulder. When she reached for it, Boone paid her no mind and instead turned to Dr. Richards.

  
“I’ll help too. Better chances with more people,” he says and Anna shoots him a grin that could blot out the sun with how bright it is.

  
“Thank you. Let’s get going so we can see what we can do.,” Alex told them and then gestured for them to follow him to the tent closest to the entrance of the camp. Inside, there are four men laying in the bunks either groaning in pain or passed out from said pain. Richards leads them over the man in the back corner who is surrounded by stained curtains. When Anna looks at him she winces at what she sees.

  
The poor man’s right leg was mangled to all hell, and burn marks littered his other leg and up around his waist. In the light she could see tiny pockmarks throughout his body where she could tell shrapnel used to be. “He stumbled through the minefield we have between ourselves and Nipton just this morning. I’ve done what I can to stabilize him, but until you brought those supplies back I wasn’t able to do anything more,” Alex whispers to her with a sour look on his face, “I got all the metal bits I could find but his arm has to go or he won’t make it another night.”

  
Anna nods and finally takes her bag from Boone to lay out the extra medical supplies she had. She lined up four stimpacks, two syringes of med-x, and a large bottle of whiskey. Richards nodded at her small haul. It was not enough to help the other people in the tent, but it would be enough to get the trooper’s leg off and mostly healed. 

  
Alex passed around the bottle of whiskey and the three of them sanitized their hands as best they could. He then sets out the sharpened scalpel, bone saw for later on. This would be loud and messy, but it would be the best way to save the man's life.

  
“Ready?” Richards’ asks his new assistants and the two of them give the doctor a nod. Alex nods back then grabs the surgical tubing on the tray next to the bunk. He ties it just above the trooper’s knee as tight as he can then injects the tan skin with med-x to dull the pain. Anna and Boone maneuver around him so that she is holding down his leg and Boone is holding down the man's upper body. The good doctor takes a deep breath before placing the scalpel against the trooper’s flesh and pressing down. 

  
The next thirty minutes of the operation felt like hours had passed to the three of them. Once the trooper seemed stable, the three of them stepped outside to have a quick smoke. “Thank you. He was the worst off and I should be able to take care of the rest of them,” Alex says then suck in until the cherry of his cigarette glows bright.

  
Anna nods then covers her mouth to smother a yawn. Holding a thrashing man down while someone cuts off his leg could wear a person out. She checks her pipboy, and sees that it is nearing nine at night and knows that she has to go to bed soon if she wants to make it to Boulder City tomorrow.

  
“If you have it then we are going to bed,” Anna tells the good doctor then extends her hand in a farewell handshake. Alex takes her hand and gives it a few good shakes before letting go and offing it to Boone who takes it. 

  
“Next time you are around, maybe it won’t be to help me cut off a leg.,” Alex jokes and Anna huffs out a laugh before turning away and going toward the bunks.

  
“Let’s hope so. Goodnight Alex,” She calls behind her. He was a nice man and she did hope to see him again under better circumstances. 

  
Neither her or Boone speak until they are settled into their bunks. Anna is almost asleep when Boone’s deep voice starless her awake, “You did good today Anna.”

  
She rolls so that she is facing him and gives her friend a small smile that he probably can not see in the dark building. It makes her feel good to hear Boone speak about her that way. He had never been the type to speak unless it was necessary. 

  
“Thank you Boone. It makes me feel good to help out when I can.,” She tells him. After her parents death, Anna had turned to a life of crime until Cliff had made her see that there were better ways for her to get by.

  
“You are good, Anna. You help people without a second thought. Even people who don’t deserve your kindness.,” Boone says and she knows that he is talking about himself. She grimaces in the dark and rolls that she does not have to look at her friend. She lays awake until she can hear his breathing even out and knows that he is asleep. She turns back around and stares at his silhouette in the dark.

  
“You are good too Boone. Even if you don’t know it.,” She whispers and smiles softly at his still form. She snuggles down into her blankets and closes her eyes. She needed to sleep if she wanted to get it into Boone’s head that there could be a bright side to everything. 


End file.
